Standard Chartered is moving to bring institutional cryptocurrency custody directly into its banking operations, agreeing to acquire all of Zodia Custody while separating the company’s software and professional-services arm into a new venture.
The London-based bank said on Oct. 21 that its subsidiary, Standard Chartered I Holdings, had agreed to buy 100% of Zodia Custody. The transaction covers Zodia’s regulated operations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg.
The deal follows a takeover proposal accepted by Zodia’s shareholders and noteholders in May. It is not yet complete: the acquisition still requires regulatory approvals, after which Standard Chartered must integrate the custody business into its own operations.
According to CryptoSlate, the planned restructuring is designed to give Standard Chartered direct ownership of a business that safeguards digital assets for institutional clients, while also creating a separate technology provider for other financial institutions.
Custody business moves into the bank
Standard Chartered plans to place Zodia Custody within its Securities Services division. That unit already provides traditional securities services and digital-asset services, so the transaction would bring cryptocurrency safekeeping into the bank’s existing institutional infrastructure.
Crypto custody refers to the arrangements used to hold and protect digital assets on behalf of clients. For institutions, custody can form part of a broader service relationship that also includes settlement, trading and collateral management. Bringing these activities closer together could allow Standard Chartered to offer clients a more unified platform rather than requiring them to work with several specialist providers.
The bank’s global head of Securities Services and Digital Assets, Ying Ying Tan, said the acquisition would strengthen its custody offering and broaden its ability to serve institutional customers internationally. The deal’s immediate significance, however, remains subject to regulatory clearance and the successful integration of Zodia’s operations.
The proposed acquisition is part of a broader expansion by Standard Chartered in digital assets. Earlier in October, the bank introduced custody services for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and outlined plans to include the token in collateral arrangements with LMAX Group. It has also expanded institutional Bitcoin and Ethereum trading in the UAE and announced plans in Singapore to provide custody for selected cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets.
A stablecoin is a digital token designed to maintain a stable value relative to an underlying reference, while tokenized real-world assets represent interests in assets or financial instruments on a blockchain. In the arrangements described by the bank, these products sit alongside more established trading and custody services.
Zodia technology unit to become separate company
The restructuring will not place every part of Zodia inside Standard Chartered. Its software and professional-services business is being separated into a new company called Zodia Solutions.
Zodia Solutions is being established under SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s venture arm. It will supply digital-asset infrastructure to financial institutions that want to launch or expand blockchain-based financial services without necessarily developing all of the underlying systems themselves.
The planned investors include Northern Trust, NAB Ventures, SBI Ventures and Emirates NBD, along with other financial institutions. Standard Chartered will remain a customer of the new business. This arrangement gives the bank a continuing relationship with the technology operation while keeping the regulated custody business within its traditional banking structure.
Zodia Solutions Chief Executive Craig Perrin said financial institutions were moving from experimental digital-asset projects toward full-scale operations, increasing demand for specialist infrastructure providers. The split therefore separates two different business models: custody, which involves safeguarding institutional assets, and technology services, which provide systems and expertise to financial firms.
Wider digital-asset platform and market picture
Standard Chartered’s wider digital-asset activities also include Zodia Markets, which provides trading infrastructure, and Libeara, a tokenization platform. Together with the planned Zodia Custody acquisition and Zodia Solutions, these businesses give the bank exposure to several areas of the institutional market, including trading, custody, tokenized securities and financial technology.
The strategy reflects a broader effort to build digital-asset services within established financial institutions. For Standard Chartered, the next steps are regulatory approval and operational integration. Until those steps are completed, the transaction cannot deliver the additional institutional revenue opportunities described in the proposal.
Moneyiar market data at 23:34 on Oct. 22, 2026, showed Compound (COMP) at $24.3623424074, down 5.08% over 24 hours but up 9.45% over seven days. Walrus (WAL) was $0.0375568668, down 4.19% in 24 hours and 25.87% over seven days. Nexus (NEX), recorded at 23:33, traded at $0.0000006019, down 10.62% over 24 hours and 19.28% over seven days. Would (WOULD), with data timestamped Sept. 22 at 21:04, was $0.0351412837, up 0.33% over 24 hours and 10.6% over seven days. These market figures are separate from Standard Chartered’s announced corporate transaction.
